Dolphin stampede off O.C. coast causes buzz

Stampeding dolphins are in the spotlight because a video showing the massive pods off the coast of Dana Point has gone viral, generating interest and making headlines worldwide the past few days. The pods of about 1,000 dolphins came up right next to the Capt. Dave Dolphin and Whale Safari charter boat Saturday and Sunday about 2.5 miles off the coast, wowing spectators.

"I'm thankful we're creating an awareness of what's going on off our coast," said Capt. Dave Anderson. "Very few people are aware that we have dolphins here, many people still think of Florida or Hawaii when it comes to dolphins, but we actually have more than Florida, Alaska and Hawaii combined. So many people are unaware that we are the dolphin capital in the world."

There are about 450,000 common dolphins that live off the Southern California coastline, said Anderson. Pods of up to 10,000 can be seen off our coast, but it's rare to see them in large numbers and taking off as if there's a race with a big prize at the finish line.

"Really, I've only seen that about 15 times in my life; it's unusually rare behavior," he said. "In this case, they turned around and started charging the boat. It's always amazing when it happens."

Anderson – who is out daily on his charter boats – said of all of nature's wonders seen off our coast, the dolphin stampede is the most amazing.

"It's hard to describe it, even when you are looking at it," Anderson said. "You can see all the ocean churning up from the dolphins as they are charging up and down the coast, all the splashing, especially if the water is calm. It's just extremely exciting. You feel like you're in the middle of a stampede of horses. But obviously they aren't going to hurt you, so you feel safe at the same time."

He said it's been about a year since the last time he saw a stampede like this, and experts don't know what causes the dolphins to suddenly take off, going from 2 knots to 22 knots within seconds.

"It was really dramatic; they're all leaping out of the water and splashing," he said. "There's no hesitation. It's like 'bam!' It's so quick."

Anderson said incidences such as this help create awareness for the dolphins, and he's using the opportunity to talk about overfishing of squid and sardines – the food source for these mammals. He said there was once a million dolphins in the Black Sea, but because of overfishing there are now only about 10,000 in that area.

"We need to balance what we are taking (with) what is needed for all these dolphins," he said.